Disappointing Numbers from Rooftop Capital in India

India’s rooftop solar sector has failed to grow despite numerous government policies and incentives as the regulations, red tape and discom opposition makes it a herculean task to install a rooftop solar system in India. Given the high financing costs and a lack of awareness in residential segment, solar systems remain almost non-existent in the rooftop segment in India.

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Chandigarh which is a union territory has touted itself as the “rooftop solar capital” as it managed to install solar rooftop systems in 120 government buildings. But the less said about the residential sector the better. As per reports only 55 houses in a city which has more than 250,000 houses have installed rooftop solar systems. Putting up a rooftop solar system in a government building is easy, as subsidies are high and the discoms do not put much of a resistance to a fellow government official. Also discoms are forced to kowtow to government policies.

Read more about Solar Subsidies in India

But for a person without government access, it is a herculean task getting approvals and regulatory clearances. Understanding the net metering process is almost impossible for a common person unless he is a huge green enthusiast. The economic returns are also not that great considering the time and effort required to get a system.

While solar power systems cost have fallen drastically in India with cost of a 10 KW system being around $10,000, the problem lies in getting the clearances and a net metering connection. Despite the best intentions of the government, free market has not worked in the rooftop solar sector. Almost all the installations in the distributed rooftop segment have come due to direct government intervention like tenders or putting systems on government buildings. The free market dynamics which have led to millions of installations in places like Germany and Australia is missing in India.